The University of Hawaii at Manoa has been named to a consortium of institutions that will share $360 million over the next three years to conduct research that will help weather authorities better forecast episodes of flooding in rivers and streams, among other things.

The effort, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will create a team of hydrologic researchers across the U.S and Canada that will work to improve the current national model that predicts the flow of streams and rivers.

In Hawaii the project aims to improve flooding forecasting across the state.

Thomas Giambelluca, the project lead for UH, said the current National Water Model doesn’t work well for forecasters in Hawaii, so project team members will conduct research in hopes of improving the Hawaii-specific aspects of the model.

“With better information for the alert system, we hope it will lead to fewer false alarms and failures to alert,” he said.

Overall, the newly created Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology project seeks to assist NOAA in its a mission of creating a “water-and-weather-ready nation” by developing national hydrological analyses, forecast information, data, guidance and support services to inform essential emergency management and water resources decisions.

The initiative aims to advance water research in support of NOAA’s Office of Water Prediction and bolster the work of the National Weather Service and National Water Center at the University of Alabama.

The project also seeks to create curriculum programs to prepare the next generation of science professionals to help communities build resilience to water-related risks. In Hawaii that means beefing up UH’s water-related course offerings and graduate study opportunities, officials said.

Giambelluca, director of the UH Manoa Water Resources Research Center, said Manoa brings a wealth of expertise to the consortium regarding tropical weather and hydrological processes, especially for the Hawaii region.

While he’s still waiting to hear exactly how much of the $360 million UH will receive, Giambelluca said he expects that among the first projects to be underwritten will be an effort to make the newly created Hawaii Climate Data Portal a resource for the National Water Model.

The Hawaii Climate Data Portal, unveiled by UH in March, is an open-source online platform featuring reams of climate data and information along with data products, climate tools, links and more.

Other initial efforts to be funded, he said, include an evaluation of the national model for its accuracy and usefulness in Hawaii and a project to improve Hawaii stream-flow predictions.

A library of Hawaii storm case studies will be created, he said, and there will be money for research into the probability of precipitation, groundwater inundation and drought in the islands.

Drought is likely to be a growing concern in Hawaii under the spell of climate change. The best science, Giambelluca said, suggests the windward sides of islands in the coming years won’t necessarily get drier — and might even grow wetter — while the leeward sides, where most of the people live, will experience increasing periods of drought.

“We don’t have the complete answers yet,” he said.